


Twenty-One

by cafephan



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, First Kiss, First Meeting, Fluff, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 13:56:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4837757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cafephan/pseuds/cafephan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On his twenty-first birthday, Dan decides to try drinking for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twenty-One

I strongly advise listening to **[this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6d3aYMsIvs)** as you read!

\-- 

It was Dan’s twenty-first birthday, and he had made a vow to reinvent himself. His ideal was to shed who he previously was down to the last detail, as his life thus far had been solely education-focused and in turn he was seen as snobby and antisocial, and as he had dropped out of university and was no longer living off of his parents’ small fortune, he was alone in the world with no money and had little to show for it.

So he had turned to the local bar.

What limited funds he had should ideally be going to fix his car that was damaged in a recent terrorisation of his estate, as well as satisfying the pompous landlord who was constantly pounding on his door demanding to be paid. But it was the first time Dan hadn’t had life so easy, the first time things hadn’t been handed to him on a silver platter, which was why he hadn’t paid up. His teenage rebellious stage was seemingly occurring in his early twenties.

He had switched his usual baggy jumper in favour of donning a tight-fitting leather jacket, his jeans were skinnier than usual, and he was plodding around in shoes that were a size too big as he had bought in preparation for the future, he thought he was being savvy. In reality he was being ridiculous. He tugged on his sleeves as he studied the entrance to the bar in front of him, making out multiple figures through the frosted glass windows.

He was allowing himself to have his first ever alcoholic beverage – three years after the legal age – and he felt pretty damn good about it.

“In or out, mate?” a voice startled him from behind, and a gaggle of teenagers were surrounding him, clearly wanting access to the bar too.

“Um, in, I guess” Dan answered, silently scolding himself when he heard sniggers from some people in the group, he was tripping over his words and it was blatantly obvious he didn’t belong here. He may be dressed the part of a bargoer, but his façade was transparent.

He stepped aside to let the teenagers in and followed behind them, and took in his surroundings as the door closed quietly behind him. It was busy and bustling, next to no tables being vacant, and most gazes turned to face the newcomers. He hoped that he could blend in the background amongst the group he had followed behind, but as they dispersed to different tables, he was left standing alone in front of the door and a few gazes lingered on him. He felt uncomfortable as it was obvious some were raking him up and down, and he felt more conscious than ever.

But as he sat down on the first vacant barstool he came to, something changed in him. He felt a boost of confidence, as if he didn’t need to be leg-tremblingly afraid, that so many other people were in the same boat. He didn’t know why it had come to him all of a sudden, but it never crossed his mind to question it. He straightened his posture and placed his hands on the bar, and began tapping a random tune with his fingers as he perused the drink menu that was lit fluorescently above the shelves of bottles.

Dan knew little away from Law statistics and proper English grammar, he had next to no life experience and it was showing in how he knew none of the drinks that were on offer. None detailed the ingredients that were put into them, and he ideally wanted to start with something mild and ease his way into the strong alcohol. He was in too deep, he was trying too much too fast, and though he felt somewhat confident in the bar, he was terrified of trying something he’d hate and embarrassing himself in front of all the strangers.

“Can I help you?” a female voice broke him out of his contemplation, and an electric blue-haired tattooed woman presumably in her late thirties was looking at him expectedly. She followed Dan’s gaze to the drinks list above her head, and smiled at him sympathetically. “Are you new to the whole drinking game?” she asked, and Dan nodded guiltily. She more than likely thought he was pathetic. It was also blindingly obvious how he didn’t belong, and that deflated his confidence a little. He had always been conscious to people’s perception of him.

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll set you off on the light stuff, it’s what we give the newbies. Worked a treat on one of our now regulars a few months ago. Want me to introduce you?” she offered, and Dan tried to process her words on the spot, but the fact she wasn’t speaking all too clearly was highly perplexing.

“To what, the drink or the regular?” he asked, which prompted the woman to throw her head back and laugh heartily, yet she still didn’t answer him properly, and he genuinely didn’t know. Nevertheless, she turned to the shelves of drinks and began grabbing various bottles and placing them in a row. After around a minute, she flicked her head back around and smiled at Dan, then she diverted her gaze to further down the bar, past the swarm of avid barfolk all shouting orders at the other two bartenders that were serving.

“Phil!” was all he heard her shout as the rest of her sentence was drowned out by another group of teenagers entering the bar and chatting amongst themselves excitedly. Dan watched on as the blue-haired bartender continued shouting to ‘Phil’ for a little while longer, then nodded towards Dan and then continued with mixing the drink.

He didn’t know why, but Dan found himself blushing, and he dipped his head and focused on playing with his hands whilst he waited for something – _anything –_ to happen.

Which only took a few seconds.

A tap on his shoulder made Dan jump so much he was almost sure he had made an indentation in the ceiling, and he nervously whipped his head around to make eye contact with whoever wanted his attention, and he was met with bright blue eyes which reflected the bright overhead lighting wonderfully.

“Hi” the guy said, and Dan reciprocated it, joyful that he didn’t stumble on his words again, at least he regained some dignity.

“So you’re the kid that Porsha wanted me to meet, huh?” he asked with a slight side smirk, and the words provoked a little more of Dan’s confidence, so much so it came out in his speech.

“I’m twenty-one years old, I’m not a kid” he retorted, and spun around on the stool so he was facing the guy wholly. The mildly pale-skinned, blue eyed extremely attractive guy. Either life was throwing Dan a curveball or his first day of being twenty-one involved conquering temptation.

“Yet I am twenty-five, so you are kind of a kid” he shrugged, and Dan tried his hardest to come up with a sassy response, but failed miserably and instead pouted.

“Even got that kiddy pout down to a T, point proven. I’m Phil” he held out a hand, which Dan shook, but he chose his next move carefully. In the occasional mystery programmes he had watched with his mother years ago, people in bars generally gave fake names, and Dan struggled to find a reason why that wouldn’t be a good idea.

“… Nathan” he replied, and flicked his gaze to the ceiling as a moment to contemplate on why the hell he settled on Nathan rather than a name that was even remotely close to his own, it was almost a sure thing that he’d forget his false identity.

“So what’s your poison?” Phil enquired, and Dan bit his lip as he had no clue. The bartender, Porsha, apparently, hadn’t told him what she was making, only that it was the ‘light stuff’ that ‘newbies’ have. But he wouldn’t say so, as it would just spur Phil on more with the kid talk.

“I can’t remember the name” Dan stated, and Phil nodded in understanding.

“We’ll see when it comes. So tell me about yourself” he prompted, and Dan furrowed his eyebrows. Why did he care so much? Dan was sure the place wasn’t a pickup joint, he wouldn’t have touched such a place with a ten foot pole, and nobody had ever cared about him enough to ask stuff about him beyond his name, but as he was now ‘Nathan’, he could make up whatever life he wanted. But being as uncreative as Dan was, he was as truthful as could be.

“I’m a twenty-one year old uni dropout, broke, general fuckup. You?”

Phil looked slightly taken aback, but soon smiled again before answering. “I work at a TV station across town, chasing the dreams of the media and all that” Dan nodded and felt a pang of jealousy, as he always did when he encountered someone who had their life together. Though he had chosen to end his life of luxury when he dropped out of university, he often regretted it.

Before either could say anything more, Porsha returned and placed a shot glass in front of Dan, and both he and Phil looked down into it with curious eyes. Dan slid a five pound note across the bar to Porsha and she thanked him before strolling over to the cash register to get his change.

“No you’re definitely not a kid, that’s the strongest drink here” Phil spoke sarcastically from over Dan’s shoulder, and a chill went down Dan’s spine just from the thought.

“R-really?” he stuttered, which sent Phil into fits of laughter, so much so he had to steady himself on the bar.

“No! Are you serious? It’s practically dilute fruit juice. Enjoy your drink, little boy” he laughed as he began strolling away. He was in no way rude, everything was said in a very lighthearted manner, Dan was just very conscious of everything. Dan’s grip tightened around the glass and almost without thinking he tipped the liquid down his throat and placed the glass back down on the bar without as much as a second thought, his first alcoholic drink sliding through his system and he didn’t even process it. He was much too focused on proving Phil wrong, though now he couldn’t even find him to do so.

He settled on having his hands by his sides as he began walking the length of the bar, searching for the guy who had been pretty much mocking him for the whole night so far. Dan knew that the logical and probably best thing would be to let Phil go and let him think what he wanted to think, but Dan wasn’t ready to let his ego take a blow by someone he knew nothing about, and his perfectionist trait was proving agonisingly irritating.

He spotted the dark blue spotted shirt at the other end of the bar, and Dan stormed up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, as the role reversal was mere minutes before.

Phil spun around, and Dan was sure he saw a glint of surprise as well as something else he couldn’t decipher in Phil’s eyes, but it was gone in a blink. “You found me, congratulations” Phil joked, and Dan rolled his eyes.

“I’ll tell you what, though. I’ll buy your next one because of your journey and, you know, you’re pretty. Deal?” he offered, and Dan felt his eyes widen. A deal usually meant both parties contributing something, and Dan hadn’t said anything. Surely Phil didn’t think that buying him a drink would mean he would hook up with him?

“I’m not that kind of guy, sorry” Dan mumbled, turning his attention to the drinks menu again, trying to decode the names into something he could understand.

“What does that- oh my god, no! Nathan, I would never think that, that’s disgusting! No I just meant I’ll buy you a drink because you’re pretty and I’ve been a complete jerk so far. Kind of a peace offering” Phil gushed, and Dan felt himself breathe a sigh of relief. It sounded weird even in his own head, but he felt comfortable in Phil’s presence, an underlying sense that he was a kind soul that wouldn’t hurt a fly.

“Oh, in which case that’d be great, thankyou” Dan replied, trying to make his tone apologetic. Phil simply smiled as he got the attention of Porsha, who was now serving their end of the bar.

“I thought you’d left!” she said to Dan as she approached the two of them.

“Just relocated, I guess” he laughed nervously, still not feeling completely at ease.

“So what can I get you both?” she asked, and Phil turned to Dan.

“You choose, I have no idea what any of these are, so” he shrugged, hoping intensely that the talk of him being a kid wouldn’t be spurred on further.

“Just two of the regulars, if you don’t mind” Phil smiled to Porsha whom nodded and turned towards the bottles preparing to display her mixology expertise.

As Porsha was fixing their drinks, Phil turned to face Dan with a welcoming expression.

“So when did you turn twenty-one?” he asked politely, and the question elicited a welling of tears in Dan’s eyes, but he was determined not to let the fact that nobody had bothered about his birthday make him cry. He had chosen this loner life, and he must deal with it.

“Technically about forty minutes ago” Dan stated, firmly believing one was not a year older until the time they were born had passed. It evidently took Phil a couple of seconds to click on, but once realisation dawned he bit his lip and looked down at his hands, he was deciding what meaningless version of ‘I’m sorry’ to deliver. Dan didn’t need it.

“Oh… um, in the nicest way possible, why are you here? Alone?” Phil asked, his tone a million miles away from the borderline arrogant that he spoke in previously.

“I told you before, I’m a general fuckup. That encompasses loneliness and all the other tidbits that you don’t care to listen to and I don’t care to list” Dan snapped, but he didn’t mean to. He was just defensive, he was upset about a whole manner of things, and he was generally insecure. He was embarking into the world on his own with no support from anyone, it was bound to take its toll. Dan just felt morbidly ashamed he was taking his frustration out on a random stranger at the bar.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it, truly. I just wondered why you weren’t with friends or family, you know, as twenty-one is a pretty big milestone” Phil was still letting words flood out of his mouth seemingly without applying logic to them, and Dan wondered if it was maybe in an attempt of comfort.

“In America, maybe. It means fuck all to me, right now” Dan mumbled as he turned away from Phil to look at where their drinks were, but Porsha had vacated them to serve more customers, so Dan was going to be with Phil for a while.

There was a minute or so of silence as Dan awaited Phil’s response, and he spent the time looking around the bar and again realising how out of place he was. Everyone else except him – and he guessed Phil, too – was in a group of some sort and was socialising happily, but Dan just felt insecure. At the start of the night he had intended to talk a big game if anyone were to approach him, he had no intention of revealing how screwed he really was, he wanted to blend in as much as possible and just make something of his birthday. He wanted to, ideally, get absolutely hammered, as is expected of eighteen and twenty-first birthdays, partying and getting hammered with friends. Dan was aiming for one of the two, seeing as he couldn’t have the whole package. He wanted ‘Nathan’ to be cool, maybe lead an enviable lifestyle, but he ended up being an alias that reminded Dan just how fucked he was.

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I’m happy you’re here and i’m happy to have met you” Phil spoke quietly, barely audible above the pounding music, and Dan’s defensive instinct was to snap with ‘it isn’t’, but that would be a lie. Despite them only meeting a matter of hours ago and barely having had a functioning conversation, meeting Phil was the best thing that had happened to Dan in weeks, and it scared him to admit it to himself.

“Thankyou” Dan replied, and he allowed himself to smile. A genuine, toothy smile, which Phil seemed to reciprocate.

Then, two glasses were placed in front of them, and a beaming Porsha stood behind them.

“Hitting it off, are we?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, gaze switching between both Dan and Phil, both of which mumbled incoherent ramblings. “Listen, not to be funny or anything, but the barstools are really for the middle aged drunkards that want to stumble home stinking of pee at three a.m, not boys like yourselves. I advise you go get one of the booths over there” she pointed towards a raised platform of seating, containing walled off, privated seating booths.

Dan felt himself blush even though Porsha didn’t insinuate a thing, but he grabbed his drink (still unknowing of what it even was) and got up from his stool and waited for Phil to lead the way. Phil soon followed suit after he had a hushed discussion with Porsha, and after a wave goodbye they made their way towards the booth, spotting one towards the back.

Once they were seated opposite each other, Dan felt a little more at ease with Phil, so much so he felt happy to talk mindlessly about anything and everything (including interests, likes and dislikes, relationship status and orientation, which was odd but it felt natural and easy to discuss, it turned out they were both the same) with him, often resulting in outbursts of hysterical laughter and playful gentle kicks under the table.

“So, I suggest we down these in the typical way, are you in?” Phil proposed, gesturing to their drinks that were still untouched as conversation and getting to know one another had been the main priority. Dan had downed a shot earlier in the night but he was focused on something else thus wasn’t thinking about it, but if he were to do so again, he was more than conscious about it. Plus, Phil was in front of him, and would be bound to judge if Dan were to throw up as a result of the shot, as well as judge his technique – which he didn’t have.

Dan simply looked down at his drink and gulped, the task shouldn’t be as difficult as he was making it for himself.

“I mean, we don’t have to, if you don’t want to? I was just going to make a birthday toast to you if we were” Phil added, obviously picking up on Dan’s hesitation.

“I’m just nervous, I’m just a little new at this, the whole drinking thing” he told Phil, who set to reply, but Dan shut him up by continuing, “but I want to learn, I don’t want to be the boring one”

Phil shook his head. “Not drinking doesn’t make you the boring one, but if you want to, we can down them together, a solidarity type thing” he suggested, and Dan stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

Without warning, Phil reached forward and grabbed Dan’s hand loosely, and grabbed his drink with his other hand. He then nodded for Dan to do the same, which he did. His lips were pressed firmly together as Phil counted them down, and Phil ran his thumb across Dan’s hand comfortingly as they both took their shots together, and though Dan winced at the liquid running down his throat, he felt a rush of adrenaline. He felt as if he had passed a rite of passage. And he felt, weirdly, on top of the world.

Dan was a little crestfallen when Phil eventually retreated his hand back to his side, and before he knew what he was doing he made a grabbing-type motion by clenching his fist, right as Phil was placing his glass back down, and he most probably saw. The action reeked of desperation and it scared Dan, how he could possibly be dependent on someone he met that very night, but he felt increasingly comfortable in Phil’s presence the longer they spent together, it was hard not to be. But if Phil did see Dan’s embarrassing action, he didn’t comment on it. Instead he smiled and spoke about another random topic as if nothing had happened.

“You’d love Jack, I reckon, most people do” Phil stated as he leaned back against the wood of the booth.

“Who’s that? They sound great, I’d like to meet him” it seemed that Dan wasn’t processing what he was saying anymore, as he couldn’t even remember stringing the sentence together in his head before speaking it. Surely drinking two shots wouldn’t be his limit? Maybe it was the beginners lightweight. He hoped so, because he didn’t want to leave Phil, at least not yet.

Phil burst into laughter, covering his mouth with his hand which Dan found adorable. “As in the drink, silly” Dan too burst into laughter at realising his stupidity.

“Listen, listen. I have something to say” Dan announced, slamming a hand on the table which made Phil giggle, but he nodded anyway.

“My name’s not Nathan, I lied. I’m Dan” he revealed, and Phil took it well, simply nodding and reaching for his hand again.

“I kind of gathered, because of this,” he ran a finger over Dan’s ring which had his name embedded onto it. He only wore it because it was the only piece of potentially ‘cool’ jewellery he owned, he put it with his outfit when he was planning what to wear. “But I understand, it’s cool. You can never be too careful with all the creeps in bars nowadays” Phil added with another smile, then retrieved his hand again, but Dan scrambled to get it back. Phil seemed a little shocked, but tightened his grip around Dan’s hand upon realising it was what Dan wanted.

Dan used their interlocked hands as stability as he shuffled around the booth’s semi-circular plush seat to be beside Phil, who eyed him curiously, studying his actions. Dan wasn’t too sure either, but all he knew was that he had been staring at Phil’s lips for far too long. And now he was close up, the spotlights from the bar’s dancefloor that were bouncing from the DJ station were reflecting on Phil’s face, making him look almost angelic.

“I’d very much like to kiss you” Dan whispered, and flicked his gaze to Phil’s eyes, then back down to his lips, and back again.

Phil leaned in a little, and Dan’s heart began to race. But then Phil stopped, as if refraining himself, and Dan’s blood ran cold. He had put himself out there to Phil, and he hadn’t even spared a thought to being rejected.

“Are you sure that’s not just the shots talking?” he asked softly, and Dan shook his head rapidly, as if the motion could speak a thousand words on his behalf.

“I’m not completely inebriated, Phil, I know what I’m doing,” Dan insisted, and placed a finger to Phil’s lips as he babbled on about not wanting to take advantage. “Come on, you were twenty-one before, you’re trying to tell me you didn’t take any risks like this?” Dan asked with a raised eyebrow, and he moved his free hand to caress Phil’s cheek softly, and the other man wasted no time in moving into Dan’s touch.

He bit his lip as he presumably thought things over, but it seemed only a second later that Phil’s lips were on Dan’s, kissing him sweetly yet with overwhelming passion, and Dan instinctively wrapped his arms around Phil’s neck as he deepened the kiss, a smile growing on his lips as they continued.

When they (albeit reluctantly) broke apart they were both grinning widely.

“Would it be completely insane and pathetic to say that this might be one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had?” Dan pondered aloud, and Phil shrugged.

“Maybe, but I’d feel great if you’d say it anyway,” Phil replied, and Dan swatted him playfully on the arm. “I’m just glad Porsha convinced me to go speak to the kid who was sitting alone looking terrified for his life” he added.

“Is that really what she said? About me?” Dan enquired, feigning upset and placing a hand to his heart dramatically.

“The one and only. Happy birthday… kid” Phil said with a smirk, causing Dan to roll his eyes.

“How many times do I have to- wait. If I kiss you again will you stop with the kid talk?” he asked, and Phil’s cheeks stained pink.

“You may have found a loophole there, yes” he replied softly, and he looked up at Dan through his eyelashes. That was all Dan needed before he leaned in and kissed Phil deeply again, getting completely lost in the euphoria that the kissing brought. He had never felt anything like it before, not with anyone else Dan had kissed in the past, and it led him to believe that maybe it had something to do with the person he was now kissing. The thought itself was terrifying yet extremely exciting.

A few minutes of kissing later both were nearly out of breath, and it was Phil that stood up first and held out a hand to Dan.

“Fancy another drink?” he asked, wiggling his hand for Dan to take hold of, which he did only seconds later.

“Sure, but remember I’m still a little new at this” he replied, and Phil smiled widely before squeezing his hand and leading them away from the booths.

It made Dan giddy that his words weren’t just referencing drinking, he was ready to explore all that his and Phil’s relationship could be, he was certain they wouldn’t just be a one night stand.

He was sure of it when Phil proposed a toast ‘to all of our future birthdays’ as they clinked together their shot glasses and continued their new tradition of holding hands whilst they downed them, and when Phil whispered ‘happy birthday, Dan’ in his ear and kissed him again softly on the lips.

He didn’t expect his life to fall into place after his twenty-first birthday. He didn’t expect a key to Phil’s flat for his twenty-second, a puppy for his twenty-third and an engagement ring for his twenty-fourth.

On the eve of his twenty-fifth, during a romantic dinner, he wasn’t expecting Phil to have to rush off to answer the phone which rang with more vigour than usual. He wasn’t expecting Phil to say the words he never thought he’d hear.

“Dan, it’s the adoption agency.”


End file.
